Extraction and identification of a wide range of microplastic polymers in soil and compost

Franja Prosenc (Avtor), Pia Leban (Avtor), Urška Šunta (Avtor), Mojca Bavcon Kralj (Avtor)

Povzetek

Microplastic pollution is globally widespread; however, the presence of microplastics in soil systems is poorly understood, due to the complexity of soils and a lack of standardised extraction methods. Two commonly used extraction methods were optimised and compared for the extraction of low-density (polyethylene (PE)) and high-density microplastics (polyethylene (PET)), olive-oil-based extraction, and density separation with zinc chloride (ZnCl2). Comparable recoveries in a low-organic-matter matrix (soil; most >98%) were observed, but in a high-organic-matter matrix (compost), density separation yielded higher recoveries (98 ± 4% vs. 80 ± 11%). Density separation was further tested for the extraction of five microplastic polymers spiked at different concentrations. Recoveries were >93% for both soil and compost, with no differences between matrices and individual polymers. Reduction in levels of organic matter in compost was tested before and after extraction, as well as combined. Double oxidation (Fenton’s reagent and 1 M NaOH) exhibited the highest reduction in organic matter. Extracted microplastic polymers were further identified via headspace solid-phase microextraction–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (HS-SPME–GC–MS). This method has shown the potential for descriptive quantification of microplastic polymers. A linear relationship between the number of particles and the signal response was demonstrated for PET, polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and PE (R$^2$ > 0.98 in alluvial soil, and R$^2$ > 0.80 in compost). The extraction and identification methods were demonstrated on an environmental sample of municipal biowaste compost, with the recovery of 36 ± 9 microplastic particles per 10 g of compost, and the detection of PS and PP.

Ključne besede

ekstrakcija mikroplastike;pridobivanje olja;ločevanje gostote;GC–MS;masna spektrometrija;plastični polimeri;polietilen tereftalat;polietilen;microplastic extraction;oil extraction;density separation;mass spectrometry;plastic polymers;polyethylene terephthalate;polyethylene;

Podatki

Jezik:	Angleški jezik
Leto izida:	2021
Tipologija:	1.01 - Izvirni znanstveni članek
Organizacija:	UL ZF - Zdravstvena fakulteta
UDK:	543.51:691.175
COBISS:	89126147
ISSN:	2073-4360
Št. ogledov:	208
Št. prenosov:	84
Ocena:	0 (0 glasov)
Metapodatki:

Ostali podatki

Sekundarni jezik:	Slovenski jezik
Sekundarne ključne besede:	ekstrakcija mikroplastike;pridobivanje olja;ločevanje gostote;GC–MS;masna spektrometrija;plastični polimeri;polietilen tereftalat;polietilen;
Vrsta dela (COBISS):	Članek v reviji
Strani:	str. 1-16
Letnik:	ǂVol. ǂ13
Zvezek:	ǂiss. ǂ23
Čas izdaje:	2021
DOI:	10.3390/polym13234069
ID:	14092801